Are there any men on this board who have IBS?
#1330 - 02/24/03 09:27 AM
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Nugget
Reged: 02/10/03
Posts: 2167
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I was just wondering if it is mostly us women who have IBS or if there are many men who suffer from it.
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Nugget - If men get this, they're probably too "macho" to admit it to women! Yes, there have been a few men posting on here. If you back to past pages of the board, you'll find a few.
Sharon
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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!
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Does anyone know why it is mostly women who suffer from IBS? Just wondering.....
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SLicK 
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I think it is because we tend to worry about our men too much. We are natural born worriers....at least I am.
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Men and IBS
#1418 - 02/25/03 11:14 AM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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In the US, about 70% of the people diagnosed with IBS are women. There are various theories about this - one suggests that women are more likely to have the disorder because hormonal fluctuations can play a role, and women have more hormonal fluctuations than men. Another theory says that women are simply more likely to be diagnosed because they're more apt to see a doctor about the problem in the first place. So there may actually be just as many men out there with IBS as women, but they're invisible.
Interestingly, in India the men with IBS outnumber the women, which suggests that the second theory may be more accurate. People aren't counted as having an illness until they report the symptoms - if men are less likely to visit the doctor in the US, but women are less likely to visit the doctor in India, this could be skewing the statistics both ways.
I do hear from more women than men, but the men are definitely out there. And what's really unfortunate is that they're being totally ignored in most current research. The major pharmaceutical companies are conducting drug trials on women only at this point, so new drugs that come to market aren't even approved for men. They can be prescribed to men, but they aren't likely to have been tested on them at all. Given that this research is thus ignoring, at a minimum, one third of the IBS sufferers, I think this is awful.
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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i have two male friends who have something like IBS if not IBS but neither have gone to a doctor about it. i think you might be right... guys don't want to go get it checked out. also it seems that it's less severe with my friends. maybe the hormonal thing is just what makes it worse for some of us women?
beth
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Hi, my name is Mike. I'm a 35 year old male, and new to the message boards. I was diagnosed with IBS 3 years ago, but I believe I have had some form of IBS since my early 20's. When I was frst diagnosed with IBS, I had no clue how to handle these new symptons I was encountering. Through some research, thankfully I found Heathers "Eating for IBS", which has been a blessing since, I was able to start trying new recipes and re-teaching myself how and what I could eat. I used to take anti-spasmadic prescription drugs (bentyle, generic for Levsin), but I haven't taken any mediacation in 6 months. However, I have had positive results from digestive enzymes and Acdophilus. I use a brand called Kyo-Dophilus, that I buy from GNC in the US. I have the IBS-D type of IBS. Until this past week, I haven't experienced any cramps or bloating for 5 months. I still struggle with stress, and my diet,but for most of the time I am able to control my symptons. I still have attacks, as we all do I guess, but I try to follow Heather's advice, follow a sound and safe diet, and work-out at the gym to ease attacks and from now on will look to this message board for additional advice. I am thankful that I found such a good forum on IBS.
Best Regards,
Mike Lowry
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Hi Mike!
#1918 - 03/04/03 06:50 PM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Welcome to the board! Nice to see a man on board.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hi Mike - welcome to the IBS Family! Glad to hear you have just about everything under control. I know a lot of us wish we could say the same thing.
There aren't many male IBS types on this forum. It'll be good to get a man's point-of-view on this affliction. Please don't be shy about posting anything--and I mean anything. We've heard it all before. We'll try to help you w/anything we can.
Again, welcome!
Sharon
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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!
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Hi Mike! Welcome to the board! There is a lot of good advice here. It will be interesting to hear how you, as a man, deal with the same things that us women are going through with IBS-D. I'm 35 also, happily married, no kids...although our 2 dogs do count, and live in Wyoming.
Again...welcome!
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